Thursday, February 24, 2011

Last month, our very own Hong Kong Team Leader JINKY SONSALLA and Vice-Team Leader LAICA MARTINEZ celebrated their birthday by sponsoring a luncheon for 160 students and teachers of Kabuyao Elementary School (KES) in Benguet. They celebrated with games, prizes, and delicious meal from Mang Inasal (spaghetti, burger, and soda). Thank you, TL Jinky and VTL Laica, for celebrating your special day at KES!

Chocolates from our Scotland PP Coordinator DOUGLAS INNESS were also distributed during this event. This is truly a fun-filled day for the students!

Thanks to our Baguio-Benguet Team Leader ADI LAPPAO for organizing the party and to our Team Leader BYD BAWAYAN and PP volunteers for making this event a success!

If you would like information about Pusong Pinoy's Birthday Blowout Program, please contact CTL Jay Martinez at jayed@mac.com or Vice-Team Leader Carol Vega at vegacarol@mac.com. Click HERE to see other Pusong Pinoy's birthday celebrations.

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SCHOOL PROFILE: Located atop Mt. Kabuyao, Tuba, Benguet, KES is approximately 7,000 meters above sea level. Because of its high altitude, the locale is considered an area of rain with temperature going as low as 3 to 16 degrees Celsius. During the summer, accessibility to water becomes a problem with the school's spring becoming the water source for the entire community. The school has one classroom for each grade level from 1 to 6 with full-time teachers mostly coming from the Tuba area. Although some students live close to the school area, others have to walk a mile or two just to attend school. The school has a mini library with very limited resources and instructional materials. Some are obsolete books and cannot be used as reference materials. KES has been a PP recipient since 2009. Click HERE to read more about KES.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

On August 9, 2009, the Local Government of Burgos, La Union received a generous donation of books from Pusong Pinoy. The books were turned over to Project ABC (Ameliorating Burgos Children), a multi-sectoral project aimed at improving the literacy of public school children in the municipality through improved reading comprehension.

A total of 1,101 story books were catalogued according to grade levels by the volunteer teachers within the week. There were 43 books for Pre-elementary, 355 for Grade I, 207 for Grade II, 192 for Grade III, 25 for Grade IV, 96 for Grade V and 183 books for Grade VI. The pre-elementary books were housed in the Day Care Center of the municipality and this gave the kids the exciting experience of being introduced to very colorful and beautiful books. The grade level books were equally divided among the eight elementary schools of the municipality. The books were rotated among the eight schools so that the pupils and teachers will have the opportunity to enjoy all the books even if it means taking turns. To ensure that the books are protected and can easily be transported from one school to the next, they are stored in plastic crates purchased by the local government.

A meeting was held among the Project ABC Leader and the School Heads on the mechanics of circulating the books among them. Whenever possible, the local government provides the vehicle to transport the crates. Each school head dedicated a librarian who looks after the books while in school. The first delivery of books was made in September 1, 2009, each batch of books stayed in the school for three weeks.

Children are allowed to read during their free time and a “drop everything and read program” during recess time has been adopted by all schools to encourage the pupils to read as many books they can.The teachers also devised simple borrower’s cards for students who wanted to bring a book home. After three weeks, the crate of books moved to another school while a new one arrived. This went on until all eight crates have reached each school.

The movement of books proceeded as scheduled except during the devastation of Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng when bridges were damaged and roads were eroded so the books stayed at the schools for more than a month. When the roads cleared, rotation continued but had to be carried by the students and teachers themselves in villages where the roads were still not passable by vehicles.

The designated librarians reported that, on the average, five books were not returned on time because either a student likes it and lends it to a sibling or cousin, or a teacher needs it to supplement her teaching. To date, the total collection is 5% smaller than its original number. However, the project has anticipated this and is consoled by the hope that any unreturned book continues to change hands and is still being read. We would like to believe that these books have become our children’s best friend. As Abraham Lincoln said, “The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who’ll get me a book I ain’t read.”

In behalf of the children, parents, and teachers, Project ABC would like to thank Pusong Pinoy for this gift of knowledge through books.

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Dr. Corazon L. Abansi is an educator by heart and one of the implementers of Project ABC. She is the former Vice Chancellor for Academics and Research at De La Salle Lipa and is currently teaching at the graduate school of the University of the Philippines in Baguio City. She has also worked with various international and local organizations in the provision of quality public education in the Philippines. Working hand in hand with Synergeia Foundation, an organization that aims to uplift the quality of basic education in the Philippines, she became the Executive Director for Project K (Karunungan Para Sa Kinabukasan ng Kabataan) – an education reform program implemented to boost the literacy skills of more than 30,000 public elementary school pupils in Lipa City.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Heroes and Superheroes, PUT YOUR GAME FACE ON! We have officially launched our 2nd Annual Scholarship Project - DONASYON PARA SA EDUKASYON 2! We need your help to ensure all 17 Pusong Pinoy/Hilarian scholars at De La Salle Lipa (DLSL) can continue their education this coming school year. Join us as we make a difference in their lives!

This scholarship is for Saint Brother Jaime Hilario FSC Learning Community at DLSL, one of the country's prestigious educational institutions. It is a five year program that provides secondary education to highly motivated and qualified students whose economic conditions hinder them to acquire quality academic formation.

Our scholars went through DLSL's screening process and are well-deserving of this scholarship. They worked hard all year long and are considered to be among the best in their class. One of Pusong Pinoy's scholarship recipients was named the top student in the entire batch.

Tuition is only P7,500 (approx US$182) for one (1) academic year at DLSL. Any donation will be accepted - you can solely sponsor a scholar or co-sponsor with other donors. The tuition went up from P5,000 to P7,500 for the upcoming school year. Here's a message from DLSL:

Please join this fundraising effort to enable these students to continue their education. Let's give them a well-deserved opportunity to advance into their sophomore year in high school.

If you wish to make a donation, please email our Arizona PP Coordinator JOCELIN OLIVIER at ja.olivier@gmail.com. Click HERE to read more about our scholars and this scholarship project.

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We are happy to announce that the tuition of existing Hilarian scholars will remain at P5,000.00 per school year. The new tuition will apply to new scholars only.

PUSONG PINOY meaning "Heart of a Filipino"

About Us

PUSONG PINOY

A group of family and friends wanting to make a difference, one book at a time. Since its inception in 2009, Pusong Pinoy became a force of over 88,000 HEROES worldwide via Facebook trying to make a difference - one book, one meal, one piece of clothing at a time. Our mission is to provide assistance to organizations in the Philippines that have effective programs designed to help marginalized kids learn and appreciate reading by donating used books to their cause. It is our hope that this site would inspire others to open their hearts and help make a difference in these children's lives. Today, we begin by collecting books and donating food items but perhaps someday we can do more. Let this be our means to pay it forward and give back to our country we love so dearly. "Pagtanaw sa pinanggalingan upang makatulong sa kinabukasan" - yan ang Pusong Pinoy